Pelosi visits Havana

U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi travels to Havana for talks with the Cuban Foreign Minister. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

▲ Hide Transcript

▶ View Transcript

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
STORY: U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi traveled to Cuba on Tuesday (February 18) with a delegation of congressional Democrats to engage in talks with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on normalizing relations.
Late last year, President Barack Obama moved to normalize relations with Cuba and some members of Congress favor further relaxation of trade and travel restrictions with the communist-led island.
"This delegation travels to Cuba in friendship and to build upon the announcement of U.S. normalization of relations and other initiatives announced by President Obama," Pelosi said in a statement released by her office.
"This delegation will work to advance the U.S.-Cuba relationship and build on the work done by many in the Congress over the years, especially with respect to agriculture and trade."
Republicans, who have a majority in both houses of Congress, are generally more resistant than Democrats to changes in U.S.-Cuba policy.
Pelosi and her delegation will meet with Cuban government officials, Cuba's Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega, local community leaders and representatives, and American officials at the U.S. Interests Section, her office said.
Other members of the delegation include Representative Eliot Engel, the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Representative Rosa DeLauro, the senior Democrat on the agriculture appropriations subcommittee; Representative Collin Peterson, the senior Democrat on the agriculture committee; and Representative Jim McGovern, the co-chair of the congressional Human Rights Commission.
Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced on December 17 they would work toward normalizing relations between their countries, more than half a century after Castro's brother Fidel took power.

Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: